The death of “weight loss,” digiceuticals, and improving cancer care make this list of spa & wellness trends to watch 2019-2021
It’s the final quarter of 2018, and you know what that means. It’s time to roll out our predictions for wellness & spa trends to watch in 2019 and into the next few years. At Spa Executive, we love this time of year. Not just because we get to talk about the things we’re excited about, but also because we get to speak with industry experts about what they’re excited about.
These include Professor of Health Sciences, Marc Cohen; Mandarin Oriental’s Group Director of Spa & Wellness, Jeremy McCarthy; exhale’s Chief Operating Officer, Julia Sutton, and more.
Their comments and insight are at the end of this report.
First, here are the spa and wellness trends we at Spa Executive will be keeping our eyes on between now and 2021.
Gourmet weed-infused edibles
The popularity of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD as both a topical and oral agent to combat afflictions such as chronic pain and anxiety is well documented. CBD is becoming increasingly common in body treatments and medicine cabinets. Now we’re seeing the emerging trend of its use as an ingredient in gourmet and health food and beverages, and CNN recently called it “the USA’s coolest food and drink ingredient.”
In 2018, Adriaen Block, “the first CBD restaurant and bar in NYC,” opened in Aestoria, NY. The eatery has more than a dozen menu items intended to be served with CBD, and goal is to mix “the pleasure of craft cocktails and well made food with the numerous benefits of CBD oil.” Meanwhile, the James Hotel, also in NYC, has teamed with celebrity “cannabis chef” Andrea Drummer to create a unique menu of CBD-infused dishes, treats, and beauty products.
Other examples of taking CBD to the next culinary level include Plant Miami, a vegan restaurant located inside The Sacred Space, a Miami wellness space, which reportedly offers the Plant Medicine cocktail, made with fresh pineapple, house coconut milk, dark rum, and CBD oil. And Gracias Madre, a plant-based Mexican restaurant in West Hollywood, offers CBD cocktails, including Stoned Fruit and a Sour T-eisel (pictured).
Fertility wellness
After centuries of hiding in the shadows, fertility/infertility is moving to the forefront of wellness. This previously quiet cohort is opening up and actively seeking solutions. Guiding the conversation is pregnantish.com, a website devoted to giving those struggling with fertility a place to seek and share insight and information.
Fertility problems affect approximately one in eight couples, and possibly more, and the treatments can have a range of psychological and physiological health impacts. The spa and wellness sector is well placed to serve this educated and often affluent group.
pregnantish Media founder Andrea Syrtash told Spa Executive, “This group is hungry for support and resources that comfort them during this stressful process of fertility treatments and/or infertility.”
pregnantish has created partnerships with doTERRA Essential Oils and Theralogix vitamins and supplements, and is in talks with an at-home massage service.
“Brands should want to reach these people,” said Syrtash. The opportunities here are plentiful.
Going cruelty free
The global vegan/cruelty free cosmetics market is growing fast. Estimated at USD 12.9 billion in 2017, the market is expected to reach USD 20.8 billion in 2025.
The demand for cruelty free cosmetics is loud, and companies and policy makers are listening. Nearly 40 countries have bans and regulations in place regarding the sale of cosmetics tested on animals, including the whole of the EU, Israel, New Zealand, Turkey, the UK, and South Korea. And in September 2018, California became the first US state to pass a bill implementing a ban. As California is the world’s fifth largest economy, many assume the move will have an impact on the global cosmetic market, which in 2017, was valued at more than USD 532 billion.
And Unilever, which owns 400 brands including Dove, Vaseline, Pears, and Pond’s, has called for a global ban on animal testing for cosmetics as part of a collaboration with animal protection group Humane Society International.
There’s more!!
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